The noon day sun beat down upon the square

The noon day sun beat down upon the square. The crowd watched in tense silence. Soldiers raised their guns, aimed, and fired. The guns boomed, the square was filled with smoke. When the smoke cleared instead of two bullet-ridden bodies, the bewildered crowd saw the devotee standing unhurt, and the Bab nowhere to be seen. Pandemonium prevailed. The Armenian soldiers marched off, refusing to repeat the heinous act. Col. Sam Khan and the jailor, convinced of the Bab’s innocence and recalling his portentous words, both resigned. Guards fanned out in search of the Bab, found him finishing his interrupted dictation. A Muslim was regiment marched in. The Bab and devotee were again tied and suspended. The second round of bullets found their mark. The Bab was killed by Muslims. The Hadith was fulfilled.

Myth or miracle? The event was witnessed by thousands. Reports spread through Iran, attracting ever larger numbers of believers. Foreign diplomats sent reports to their respective countries. Sir Justin Sheil, British Ambassador, sent the following report to Lord Palmerston, the Foreign Secretary in London.

“The founder of this sect has been executed in Tabreez – He was killed by a volley of musketry, and his death was on the point of giving his religion a lustre which would have largely increased its proselytes. When the smoke and dust cleared away after the volley, Bab was not to be seen, and the populace proclaimed he had ascended to the skies – The balls had broken the ropes by which he was bound, but he was dragged from the recess where, after some search, he was discovered, and shot.”